Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAy, MAy 23, 2025 Saugus Gardens in the Spring Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener A s we head into Memorial Day weekend, the town is ready for parades and the start of summer. The baskets of ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) are hung on the lampposts in Saugus Center and Cliftondale. Gardens all over town are in peak bloom. Julia Aston’s garden includes a perennial relative of the familiar annual geranium. Several species of perennial and annual geraniums were once considered to be in the same genus, but later botanists decided that they were less closely related. Showy bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), European columbine (Aquilegia spp.) and perennial geranium or cranesbill (Geranium ‘Rozanne’) are very attractive late spring to summer flowers that can be depended upon for many years. While the bleeding heart will begin to go dormant next month, the columbine and cranesbill often rebloom later in the summer, and their foliage lasts until fall. The cranesbill leaves even have a reddish fall foliage color. Among the most noticeable flowers this week are the bearded irises (Iris pallida, Iris germanica and many hybrids). This is the floral emblem of the Saugus Garden Club, and A petunia with white speckles on a deep purple background calls to mind the spangled blue field on the flag or a starry, starry night. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) it has always been among my favorites. Bearded iris blossoms have three colorful upright petals, which are known as standards, and three colorful drooping sepals known as falls. At the top of the falls there is a fuzzy nectar guide, which is the “beard” that gave this group of irises its name. While there may not be as many different irises as there are roses, there is certainly no lack of variation. The flower parts may be all one solid color, or they may have speckles, streaks or edges of a somewhat contrasting shade. The falls may be a totally different hue than the standards, and the beards may be yet another color. One of the most unusual color patterns I have seen is the broken color pattern on several irises in the herb garden at the Saugus Iron Works that is half dark purple and half nearly white, split down the middle of some of the falls. While late May to early June are the most common times for bearded iris to bloom in our area, reblooming irises like ‘Immortality’ can bloom at least once more per growing season, usually in October or November. Hybrid tea roses (Rosa hybriOne of the most interesting bearded irises I have seen is this one with split colors on its falls at the Saugus Iron Works. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) da) are a very varied group, available in many colors, with somewhat fragrant flowers, multiple petals and usually only one blossom per stem, but producing new blossoms repeatedly through the growing season. They are usually what we picture when we think of a rose. Stems are grafted onto hardy, disease-resistant rose roots, which means they require less maintenance. Removing spent flower heads Showy bleeding heart, European columbine and perennial geranium bloom in Julia Aston’s garden. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston) Patriotic container gardens on my front steps include pink and white verbena, ‘Night Sky’ petunia, red and white petunias, ‘Red Sensation’ cordyline, dark purple foliaged coral bells, and flag decorations. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) This group of bearded irises usually blooms right around Memorial Day each year. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) will keep them blooming longer. Roses prefer a very sunny site, not only to encourage a long blooming season but to discourage diseases that can be spread more easily when foliage is wet. ‘Memorial Day’ is a hybrid tea rose that is considered marginally hardy in our zone 6b, but it has such an amazing huge flower and fantastic fragrance that I have to give it a try. Memorial Day is traditionally the time when it is considered safe to plant annuals outdoors, since we can usually count on the final week of May as being past the “last danger of frost” for our hardiness zone. The cold temperatures we have had during this week are a reminder that occasionally there can be a frost in May. While we are all eager to plant the wonderful long-blooming annuals in our gardens, and if you wait too long the prettiest new varieties are likely to be sold out, it may be practical to put most of these tender species in containers so they can be brought indoors at night if the weather turns cold. If that is not possible and they need to be in the ground, they can be protected from frost by covering them with a sheet or blanket, or with row covers specially made to insulate tender vegetables and ornamental annuals against cold air temperatures. Petunias are among the bestknown annuals, with their colorful flowers. Breeders have continually introduced new varieties with increasing color variations and patterns. When searching for interesting flower combinations for patriotic Memorial Day containers and gardens, petunias can be great choices. ‘Splash Dance Moon This pale pink hybrid tea rose — called ‘Memorial Day’ — has huge pale pink blossoms and a deep fragrance. A group of yellow bearded irises are in bud around it. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Walk’ is a fun dark purple petunia with scattered small white speckles, and with true blue flowers being scarce, purple has often been used as a contrasting third color with red and white flowers. There are several similar cultivars with dark background colors, including ‘Night Sky,’ ‘Headliner Electric Purple Sky’ and ‘Headliner Strawberry Sky,’ with a nearly red background. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking.
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